Within The Code
by Aliecole
Summary: As two ThunderClan apprentices are forced to make a difficult decision on their own, they must ask themselves if they're really doing the right thing. Does lying to the clan go against the warrior code if you're doing it to help someone else?
1. Chapter 1

**For some odd reason, this site won't let me indent on my mobile device. I know this can be annoying, so I send my apologies.

This story takes place in the old ThunderClan territory. All of the character's are OC's, and I'll be introducing cats as I need them. No need to introduce EVERY cat in the clan if only a few will be used, right?

Feedback is appreciated at any time! But please no cussing in the comments.**

 **The Characters:**

Redpaw: Ginger tom with dark amber eyes

Petalpaw: White she-cat with tortoiseshell patches, green eyes

GoldenStripe: Light gold tabby she-cat with amber eyes

 **Chapter 1**

A pair of young cats stared across the clearing at a light gold she-cat who was examining a pile of small, freshly killed prey. "Hey, Goldenstripe!" Redpaw yowled at the tabby warrior. "Petalpaw and I are going hunting, okay? Bye!" The ginger tom quickly turned to the white and tortoiseshell cat next to him. "Quick!" he softly hissed, "Before she tries to stop us!" Petalpaw's emerald eyes widened, but she gave a quick nod in response. Bunching their muscles, the two ThunderClan apprentices prepared to bolt.

"Hold it right there!" growled the golden tabby. Redpaw flinched and turned to see her amber eyes glaring back at him. With an irritable flick of her striped tail, the she-cat purposefully strode towards them. "Hunting? My whiskers!" the orange furred tom heard her mutter under her breath.

Goldenstripe stopped before the two apprentices and gazed cooly at Redpaw. "Now why don't you tell me what you're really up to?" she meowed.

"I did!" Redpaw insisted. "We're going hunting!" Self consciously, his right ear flicked back in a quick jerking motion. Hoping Goldenstripe didn't see, he quickly straitened up and stood as tall as he could.

Goldenstripe groaned. "Ok, now I know you're planning on getting into trouble." As she turned to Petalpaw, Redpaw could feel the tortoiseshell tense up nervously. "What mischief is he up to now?" Goldenstripe sighed.

"What makes you think that I'm up to something?" Redpaw interjected before Petalpaw had a chance to say anything.

"Well let's see," Goldenstripe drawled while pretending to think hard. "There's the spider you left in Nightpaw's nest, and the ant you put in poor Specklewing's tail. Oh, and let's not forget about you pushing Shrewpaw into the creek."

"But Shrewpaw completely deserved it!" Redpaw protested. "And I didn't MEAN to put the ant on Specklewing's tail! It was meant for Shr—" The ginger tom broke off. "Er, someone else."

Goldenstripe rolled her eyes while she shaking her golden head. "Honestly, Redpaw!" the tabby snorted. "Sometimes I just don't know what Branchstar was thinking when he assigned you as my apprentice."

"Maybe he knew that you're the best mentor ever?" Redpaw purred. "And that no other cat could teach me like you can?"

Redpaw's mentor reached out with a forepaw and playfully cuffed his ears. "More like the only cat in ThunderClan who could put up with an annoying furball like you for this long." Eyes glinting in amusement, Goldenstripe glanced at Petalpaw. "Petalpaw, I know you won't lie. What is it that the two of you are really up to?"

The female apprentice shyly dropped her gaze. "Well..." Petalpaw began, shooting an anxious glance at Redpaw. "We wanted to go exploring."

"But we were going to pick something up for the fresh-kill pile on the way back!" Redpaw interrupted. Goldenstripe twitched her whiskers. Was that a hint of disbelief on her face? "It's the truth!" Redpaw persisted. "I promise!"

Goldenstripe gazed back at the small pile of lifeless prey-creatures. "The fresh-kill pile is low..." the tabby she-cat murmured. Redpaw felt his pelt itch with restlessness as he waited for Goldenstripe to make up her mind. "Alright," she meowed after what felt like several sunrises. "The two of you may go."

Curling his tail in satisfaction, Redpaw turned to leave. "BUT..." Goldenstripe continued. Redpaw held back an impatient sigh as he faced his mentor once more. 'There's always a "but"!' "If you two want to go out by yourselves, we have to have some rules established first."

The golden warrior sat down and curled her tail neatly around her paws. "Rule number 1: Don't go anywhere near the Clan borders. We just got past leaf-bare, which tends to put cats on edge; and the last thing we need is two ThunderClan apprentices accused of crossing the border. Rule number 2: Don't try to handle anything that looks even the slightest whisker of being dangerous. If you see any strange cats, I want you to head straight here. Rule number 3: Stay together! Don't separate for any reason. Rule number 4: Don't cause ANY trouble. That includes bothering the other cats on patrol, or pulling practical jokes."

"Anything else?" Redpaw moaned. Goldenstripe could ramble on forever!

"Just...be careful," Goldenstripe rasped. Her tone suddenly softened. "ThunderClan may have a good amount of apprentices, but there's only one of each of you." Leaning forward, she quickly swiped her tongue across Redpaw's forehead. Baffled, the ginger tom backed away, his pelt bristling with hot embarrassment. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Petalpaw trying to hide a giggle. "Now don't let him get you into any trouble, Petalpaw," Goldenstripe went on as if nothing had happened. "My apprentice can be a bit of a bad influence at times."

"I won't," Petalpaw cheerfully purred. The white, tortoiseshell patched she-cat skipped over to Redpaw. "So, are we going now?" The ginger tom shook his thick pelt, pushing his embarrassment down.

"Yeah, let's go!" Redpaw excitedly mewed, breaking into a trot. Pawsteps echoed as Petalpaw galloped behind him. He was going to bring back some really impressive back to the camp—even better than Shrewpaw's giant rabbit! That would teach the arrogant furbrain to boast! He already knew just where to find it...

"AND NO GOING TO THE SNAKEROCKS!" Goldenstripe loudly yowled after the departing cats.

"Mouse-dung!" Redpaw spat.

Petalpaw was silent for a few heart-beats. "We were going to the Snakerocks, weren't we?" she asked cocking her head.

"Yes," growled Redpaw.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Redpaw padded through the newly budding forest. Sometimes, the red furred cat still expected to see the forest blanketed in thick, white snow, or wake up to a frosty chill biting at his nose. Newleaf was amazing! Fresh scents of growing plants surrounded the tom and the sun's warm rays felt deliciously comfortable against his fur. But he hadn't come out here to bask in the sunlight...

"Hey, this is new!" Redpaw exclaimed as he spotted a tree growing at an oddly, slanted-growing angle. As he stepped closer, he realized it wasn't even growing at all. It was a long tree trunk that was vertically propped against another tree.

"A storm must have blown it over," Petalpaw observed as she padded up from behind him.

Redpaw flashed his teeth deviously. "Race you to the top!" he yowled, launching himself at the tree bark. Unsheathing his claws, he clumsily clambered up the trunk.

"No fair!" Petalpaw protested while darting after him. "You didn't give me any warning!"

"The slow cat catches no prey!" Redpaw called to her over his shoulder. In no time, he harried up to the top of the tree trunk. The slanted surface made for much easier and speedier climbing than the normal trees. The ginger tom stared around in awe. He was just a harelength from being as high as the treetops!

"Woah," Petalpaw breathed as she took in the sight of the terrifying distance from the ground. "We're so high!"

"Yeah! You'd snap every bone in your body if you fell," Redpaw agreed.

Petalpaw made a wry face in response. "Let's _not_ do that today."

"If you insist," Redpaw teasingly purred. Looking upward, he took in the bright, blue sky with a hungry gaze. He could only imagine what it felt like to soar in its never-ending heights. 'Birds are so lucky; they get to fly any ole' time they want.' "Wouldn't it be cool to fly up there?" he sighed wistfully.

Redpaw blinked as he realized Petalpaw wasn't responding. As he turned to face the tortoiseshell, he was taken back by her expression. The she-cat's fur was bristled out, while her eyes were dilated in horror. Panic spiked through Redpaw, and he swiveled his head around to see what had startled his companion. He expected to see a hawk's brown body sweep past at any second. "What? What's wrong?" he asked.

"I smell fox!" Petalpaw hissed, narrowing her eyes. Both cats immediately dropped their gaze to the forest floor, looking for the owner of the scent. Suddenly, a gust of wind brought the foul reek of fox to Redpaw, causing the tom to wrinkle his muzzle in disgust.

Then, the ginger apprentice caught sight of a russet lump of fur. Redpaw's neck-fur rose as he saw the limp body of a fox with bright red blood pooled at its throat. He was too high up to see if it's eyes were glazed, but there was no doubt that the creature was dead. "Do you see that?" he whispered.

Petalpaw was silent for a few heartbeats before responding. "Yes," she murmured.

Redpaw continued to stare at the lifeless predator. The ginger cat had heard several chilling accounts of the savagery of foxes. Those stories had always held some kind of cold fascination for him. He had never even been close to one before; Goldenstripe had made sure of that. But she wasn't here now. "Do you want to go check it out?" the orange tom asked Petalpaw.

"WHAT?!" Petalpaw squeaked. "Are you completely mouse-brained? We can't just go up to a fox!"

"Why not?" Redpaw replied. "It's dead," he pointed out.

"But Goldenstripe said we're not supposed to handle anything dangerous!" the tortoiseshell she-cat protested.

"I wouldn't say that a dead fox is particularly dangerous," Redpaw argued.

Petalpaw still looked a bit skeptical. "Well..." the apprentice trailed off. "I guess as long as it's really dead..."

"Great!" Redpaw mewed before she had time to change her mind. "Let's go see it!" Petalpaw slowly turned around and carefully stalked down the tree bark. Redpaw's pelt itched with anticipation, but he patiently followed after her.

Once they'd reached the ground, Redpaw darted past Petalpaw. As he reached the fox body, the apprentice skidded to a halt just before stepping into the puddle of thick, red liquid. Suppressing a shudder, he stared at the deep gouge marks on the fox's shredded throat and the bloody scratch marks scarring its flank.

Petalpaw timidly approached from behind. "Great StarClan!" she blurted out in alarm. "What kind of monster could do this to fox?"

Redpaw shook his head. "I have no idea." His head swam as he tried to think of what kind of predator would prey on foxes. Could a dog do that much damage, or possibly a badger? Even worse, it could still be hanging around the area. "Maybe we should—" Redpaw froze as there was a movement of russet fur and a pair of glinting, yellow-green eyes peering back at him.


	3. Chapter 3

Puffing his bright, ginger fur out, Redpaw peeled his lips back into an angry snarl. His orange ears lay flattened against his head, while his claws unsheathed. "Stay away!" he loudly screeched. With a frightened whimper, the pair of eyes vanished behind a mound of fox fur.

"It's...a kit!" Petalpaw stammered.

"A fox kit," Redpaw growled. For a few, startled heartbeats, he had thought it was the ADULT fox that was staring back at him. But death-scent clung to the grown fox's body, so there was definitely no way that a speck of life was within the predator. "Don't worry, we can take it!" He assured the she-cat behind him.

Strangely, Petalpaw didn't seem to a bit intimidated by the kit. "Oh, don't hurt it!" she meowed, her green eyes shining with pity. "It's not causing any harm."

Redpaw stared back at her as if leaves had suddenly sprouted from the top of her tortoiseshell head. "WHAT?" Redpaw yowled. "But it's a fox! We can chase it out now, and we won't have to worry about it when it's bigger!"

"But it can't hurt us now," Petalpaw persisted. "Can't you see it's scared out of its fur?" Redpaw blinked and turned to look at the fox. With terrified eyes as big as moons, the trembling kit ducked behind the larger fox's fluffy tail.

"It's ok, sweetie," Petalpaw crooned. "We're not going to hurt you." Redpaw's jaw dropped as he watched her slowly pad over to the hiding creature.

"Petalpaw! WHAT are you doing?" he spat. Bewilderment pulsed through him. Had his friend gone completely mad?!

Petalpaw shot back a frustrated glare. "You're not helping," she growled. Shocked, Redpaw could only watch as the apprentice doubled her efforts. "Come on, baby," she purred. "It's alright." The fox kit slowly raised it head up, blinking in curiosity. "That's it!" she softly encouraged the creature. "Come see Petalpaw!"

Quivering, the fox kit timidly stalked forward. An uncertain whine escaped its throat as it squatted and slowly crawled forward. With a jolt, Redpaw realized that the young fox was almost as big as he and Petalpaw. The tom's jaw moved as he tried to say something, but found no words coming out.

Petalpaw reached out and licked the little fox's fuzzy head. The fluffy creature flinched at her touch, but then relaxed. "What good kit you are!" she praised. "So brave!" The apprentice looked up, her green eyes shining. "Isn't he just the cutest?"

CUTE?! This was a future killer she was cuddling up to! "Y–You can't be doing this!" blurted Redpaw. "This is crazy, and it has to be breaking all kinds of clan code on top of that!"

"Actually the warrior code says we're supposed to help a kit in danger," Petalpaw tartly replied.

"Yeah, CAT kits!" Redpaw growled. "As in the kind of offspring that can't rip your face off when your not looking!"

Petalpaw huffed and angrily stomped her foot. "Can't you feel even a little sorry for it? It mother is dead!" She paused, glancing at him in sorrow. "And you of all cats should know what that feels like," she quietly murmured.

The ground lurched as nostalgia squeezed its torturous claws around Redpaw's heart. After so many moons, he still missed Silvertail with painful force that took his breath away. He could still see her pretty, sterling-gray face back in the nursery. Just one more time, he wanted to see her or just hear her say his name. Her life had been ripped away all too soon...

"I know it still hurts," Petalpaw's sympathetic voice dragged him out of his thoughts. "You lost a lot when Silvertail died, but you still have so much! You have a clan, friends that care about you, and a purpose. This kit is all alone out here, Redpaw. It has nothing."

Redpaw blinked, as he stole a glance at the kit. So many emotions swam within the depths of the fox's ashen eyes–feelings he, himself was all too familiar with. Sorrow... Fear... Confusion... Pain... For a moment, the red-furred fox blurred until a small, heartbroken, ginger kitten appeared in its place. Throwing back his head, the kit yowled his grief to all the forest to hear as— NO! Redpaw shook his head vigorously. He was not going to relive seeing his mother's lifeless form. Not today... After the tom opened his dark amber eyes, the fox was back in its proper place. For a moment, Redpaw felt a pang of sympathy for the young animal...before he remembered his duty to ThunderClan.

"Even if we wanted to help him, we can't!" Redpaw protested. He and Petalpaw were no miracle workers. They couldn't give the mother fox another life like StarClan could do for a leader. It wasn't THEIR fault she had died. Redpaw tried to brush off the slight guilt that was creeping upon him. Maybe it did sound a bit heartless to leave such a pitiful creature all alone, but it was probably for the best to let nature take its course. "There's nothing we can do!"

"Yes...we can," Petalpaw slowly mewed, sounding almost a bit uncertain herself. "We...we can hunt for him! And we can leave some prey for him everyday and—"

"You seriously think Nettlestar would be willing to give ThunderClan's prey to a fox?" Redpaw interrupted. "ThunderClan will laugh us right out camp, AFTER they're finished boxing our ears for being a bunch of mouse-brained apprentices!"

Petalpaw flicked her ears and dropped her gaze to the ground. "Not if...we don't tell them we're doing it."

Redpaw went rigid after hearing of his friend's intentions. "NO!" he exploded, causing the fox kit to dive behind its deceased mother with a startled shriek. "Do you realize how much trouble we could get into for doing this?! Can't you see how wrong this is? Going behind the clan's back like this is...it's what a bunch of flea-ridden traitors would do! No, we're NOT lying to the clan!"

For the most part of Redpaw's rant, Petalpaw had shrunken back in surprise and hurt. However, the fiery tom's last statement caused her green eyes to dance with anger. "You're one to be talking," the tortoiseshell cat spat. "You lie to cats all the time!

"That's different!" Redpaw protested. "Mine are little, harmless lies that no cat really believes, anyway. YOURS involves keeping a secret that could destroy the whole clan, maybe even the other clans! Think about it, Petalpaw! Foxes are one of the worst enemies to all four clans. They're known that way for a reason!"

"This one's different," Petalpaw insisted. "I can feel that it is."

"What happens if it breaks into the camp?" Redpaw desperately challenged. He had to get Petalpaw to see some sense! "Or what if it attacks the nursery?"

"It won't come to that!" Petalpaw fiercely vowed. "I won't let it happen! I'm not completely careless about my clan's well-being you know."

Redpaw sighed in defeat. He could see that Petalpaw was hopelessly smitten with the orphaned fox. "You really want to to do this don't you?"

"Yes," she mewed without as much as a heartbeat of hesitation.

"Fine," Redpaw grumbled. "I don't like it, but there's no way I'm letting you do this alone."


End file.
